Verizon Reorganizes Into Three Segments, Oath Gets a Demotion

As it reorganizes its divisions once again, Verizon Communications is keeping the name Oath, but just barely.

A look back at what led to today: Verizon created the Oath subsidiary in June 2017 to house AOL and Yahoo, and create an online content and sales machine that could stand up to Google and Yahoo. In September 2018, it grouped all its ad tools under the name Oath Ad Platforms. Only days after that announcement, however, news broke that Oath CEO Tim Armstrong would be replaced by K. Guru Gowrappan, and insiders saw big changes coming that would let Verizon focus on other priorities, such as creating a 5G network.

This week, Verizon announced it will reorganize all of its business properties into three groups called Consumer, Business, and Verizon Media Group/Oath, starting January 1, 2019. Verizon Media Group/Oath will include all media, advertising, and technology assets, and will be led by Gowrappan. Its media properties include TechCrunch, Engadget Tumblr, and HuffPost. The Consumer Group will include the company's consumer-facing wireless and wireline businesses, while the Business Group will include business- and government-facing products and services.

While there had been rumors that Verizon would spin off its Oath group and sell it, this puts that idea to rest—for now, anyway.